Gone in 98 minutes! Blend Network sees surge in property loans

A PEER-TO-PEER lending platform aiming to be “Goldman Sachs of P2P” has reached £2m of lending in less than four months, with its latest development loan getting backed within 98 minutes.

Blend Network offer asset-backed property loans to retail and high-net-worth individuals, as well as hedge funds and other institutional investors.

The platform launched in January and currently offers average returns of 12.11 per cent on property-backed development loans outside London.

It has backed nine loans so far, with the latest filled in just over an hour and half, which the platform attributes to investors finding an alternative to the recent stock market volatility.

“We are delighted to have reached such a significant milestone so early on following our launch and would like to thank our lenders who have provided us with the opportunity to increase our lending to UK small- and medium-sized property developers,” Yann Murciano, chief executive of Blend Network said.

“We are very happy to see growing lender appetite and trust in Blend Network.”

All loans are expected to offer between eight and 15 per cent in interest, depending on the risk profile. There is a minimum investment of £1,000, and all other investments must be made in £1,000 increments. Every loan has been vetted by sponsors such as F&P as well as Blend Network’s own in-house due diligence team.

Roxana Mohammadian-Molina, a former Morgan Stanley vice president and founder of Zeebba – which arranges at-home beauty services – joined as business development manager, while Lloyds banker Charles Lamplugh was appointed to supervise credit risk.